DANVILLE (WSLS 10) - This year could be the toughest yet for a popular entrepreneur competition in Danville.
As of Wednesday, there was just one week left to submit applications for The Launch Place's IdeaFest.
So far, 53 applications have been submitted.
According to The Launch Place CEO Eva Doss, that's about average for one week to go before the deadline.
The top 20 will be chosen and those people will have two minutes to pitch their idea to a panel of judges.
The judges will choose the three best ideas and each will get a share of $10,000 to help develop their idea.
"I think the judges are going to have a pretty difficult time. Each and every year, I think, with these competitions we have a tendency to see stronger applications," Doss explained.
Iulian Bobe, founder and Chief Technology of Tyton Bio Energy Systems located in Danville, is a first-time judge for the 2017 competition.
He said he is excited.
"I think this can put Danville on the map for entrepreneurs," Bobe said. "We see more and more entrepreneurs coming here and we see, also, companies coming here from the Northeast and Europe."
The 20 ideas that are chosen will be pitched to the judges on March 31 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.